How to adapt your training during the holidays?

Vacations mean free time, good times with friends and family, and trips to visit and discover new places and cultures. But if you have a race planned for the start of the school year or in the fall, or if you simply want to continue running regularly, how can you adapt your training during the holidays?

Here are some tips to best adapt your training during the holiday period and in summer:

1. Plan your workouts in advance

During the holidays, it is not the professional agenda that you have to juggle but rather activities with family or friends. So that the practice of running or trail running does not become a constraint for the family or group of friends with whom you spend your holidays, the simplest thing is to plan the outings a little in advance so that they do not fall, for example, on the day of a planned visit to the city where you are staying or to the neighboring island or on the day of a group hike.

2. Go for an early morning run

During the summer and during the holidays, the best time to go running is of course early in the morning. There are two reasons for this: the heat and family or group activities. Leaving before it gets too hot is the guarantee in summer of a more pleasant outing, less hot, less stifling air and also a softer, less aggressive sun, perhaps even the magnificent spectacle of a sunrise. Leaving early in the morning in the cool before breakfast time also allows you to be available the rest of the day for activities with family or friends.

3. Focus on key sessions

To adapt to the rhythm of the holidays, a fairly simple option is to reduce your usual number of weekly sessions. For example, you can go from 4 to 3 weekly sessions or from 3 to 2 training sessions per week. To maintain your fitness level, it is advisable to eliminate the recovery session and focus on more demanding sessions such as speed interval sessions, tempo sessions or long runs. The recovery session can also be easily replaced by a family hike or even a short run with friends who are taking advantage of the holidays to (re)start running.

4. Take advantage of the holidays to vary your sporting pleasures

Holidays, whether at the seaside, in the mountains or in the countryside, are the ideal time to replace one of your weekly outings (the recovery outing) with another sporting activity. There are many alternatives, but among the endurance sports activities to do with family or friends during the holidays, there is a triptych to favor: hiking, cycling or swimming (especially in the open sea or in a lake).

Hiking is perfect for discovering the surrounding nature with family or friends for a few hours, half a day or a full day, or even several days. Cycling is also an ideal activity for going in a group and discovering the surroundings. And with the development of the electric bike, it is becoming easy to organize an outing with friends or family. Everyone has the choice of a bike with or without electric assistance. If you opt for a classic bike, this outing with friends or family will perfectly replace your recovery outing. Finally, swimming in the open sea or in a lake in the summer is really a little luxury. Open water swimming is the best compared to swimming in a pool. It is also easy to combine open water swimming alone or with others with one or more people on a paddleboard or kayak to accompany the swimmer(s).

5. Discover new landscapes

Running on holiday is a unique opportunity to discover new places and new routes. Whether it’s a sunrise run or an outing along the beach, around a lake or in a new mountain range, these are sessions that are out of the ordinary and that make running or trail running so appealing. There’s nothing simpler than lacing up your shoes and going for a run wherever you are to discover the surroundings and new landscapes. Don’t forget to take your phone out with you though, it can be useful if you can’t find your way in a completely new environment.

6. Use an App to discover local routes

To discover local routes where you are spending your holidays, there is nothing better than an App to follow routes that other runners have already shared. I have used AllTrails several times and this App has always offered me a large choice of nearby routes. Be careful of course to check the distance and the elevation of the route proposed on the App so as not to end up on a very long outing with a huge elevation gain... when you just wanted to run about ten kilometers on the flat. I am exaggerating a little but I have had my share of outings (troubles) that did not go exactly as planned and that also lasted much longer than expected.

7. Go for a run with family or friends

Vacations with family or friends are an opportunity to go running with others. You just have to adapt the outing (distance, elevation, pace) so that everyone enjoys it. It's perfect for sharing a great experience in often magnificent places and if the pace is not too demanding, it's a nice little moment of exchange before starting or finishing the day. Running or trail running are certainly individual sports, but they are also sports that offer simple moments of sharing and exchange with family or friends. And vacations are an ideal time to enjoy them.

8. Maintain adequate hydration and nutrition

The only things that don't change and that you should definitely not change during the holidays are hydration and nutrition. With higher temperatures and potentially humidity depending on your summer destination, staying well hydrated is even more of a priority than usual. Always bring enough water with you. This advice goes double especially in the summer. If you are going on a long outing or a trail of several hours, also bring something to eat during your outing. Running or trail running remain demanding sports, on holiday or not and even more so in hot weather under a bright sun.

9. Combine non-training days with sightseeing

Rest days, with no training planned, are ideal days for sightseeing that is required where you are staying or even a boat trip for example. Hence the importance of planning your sessions in advance. The idea is of course to plan training sessions around sightseeing or excursion days rather than the other way around, if you want to stay popular and if you find yourself in a group where you are the only runner.

10. Take it easy and enjoy

Last little tip: holidays are also made to enjoy them. It's the time to release pressure, perhaps and above all that linked to work but also that which we can sometimes put on ourselves as a passionate runner. This does not mean that we should cut all physical activity or not plan any running or trail running outings during the holidays, but that we must adapt to the rhythm of the holidays and know how to be flexible quite simply to enjoy the holidays.

Have a good outing and above all, have a good holiday.